Software Reviews

Greybox

Greybox

I use this simple module quite a lot. I like how easy it is to install and appreciate that I can send visitors to external websites yet they never leave my site!

TRY GREYBOX REDUX HERE

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Good
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
4
Module Information
Module Description: 
Grey box pop-up for web addresses so they display on top of your current page.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Mar 2008

Flash Gallery

Flash Gallery

Everything worked when I installed the module until I attempted to view the gallery (got a white screen and fatal error message). I researched the error and found I needed to change one line of code (php) in the module file.

I like the effect of the module but beware these installation notes:

1) you need to upload 3rd party software to use this module
2) build a link in your menu system to easily find the galleries (in other words, you need to go type in "http://yousite.com/fgallery" to view the gallery)
3) code may need to be altered in the module file

After installing in a couple of sites I abandoned this module because it causes Internet Explorer browsers to close when the gallery first opens. No problems with FireFox.

Also, I did not like the display of small image files.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fair
Level of Difficulty: 
Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
2
Module Information
Module Description: 
Displays photo albums using Flash inside your Drupal site.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Apr 2008

Lightbox 2

Every time I install this module I get an error message and my screen goes blank. Hmmm.... I can't get this module to work.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Poor
Level of Difficulty: 
Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
3
Module Information
Module Description: 
The Lightbox module is a simple, unobtrusive script used to overlay images on the current page. It's a snap to setup and works on most modern browsers.
Software Version: 
5.x-2.x
Review Date: 
Feb 2008

Drupal Administration Menu

How did I live with Drupal before I used the Admin Menu? Add an admin menu to the top of your screen to easily navigate between site build and create content. You will be totally happy with this module, which is essential for the serious Drupaler.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
Drupal Administration Menu provides a theme-independent administration interface (aka. navigation, back-end) for Drupal.
Software Version: 
5.x-2.x
Review Date: 
Mar 2008

Weather

Weather

This is a nice module that allows you to set-up a site wide weather report and one (or more) for each user. It is attractive and easy to install.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Great
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
4
Module Information
Module Description: 
This module displays current weather conditions from anywhere in the world.
Software Version: 
5.x-6.x
Review Date: 
Apr 2008

Pathauto

I was resistant to using this module and am not sure why. However, once I installed it and starting using it ..... I became hooked! No more ugly URLs!

Look at the URL for this post and you will see the pathauto in action.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Great
Level of Difficulty: 
Fairly Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
Automatically generates path aliases for various kinds of content.
Software Version: 
5.x-3.x
Review Date: 
Feb 2008

Table Manager

Tablemanager

This is a wonderful module that is easy to install, configure, embed, customize, and even format inline. The ability to create embed code that references the table means that after you create the table you can embed it in your site whenever and where ever you want it. Then when you need to make changes to the table such as add a line or change values, it is easy breezy. Naturally the information that you referenced is automatically updated.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
A simple module which automates the creation of tables and allows you and sufficiently permissioned users to add to them and maintain them.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Jan 2008

Content Access

Content Access

This fantastic module provides site control over who sees "what". For example, you can set access control for a content type, a user, or on a node-by-node basis. Nice and easy to install, easy to understand, and simple to use. Bravo!

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
Provides flexible content access control.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Jan 2008

Views

This module is so fundamentally important to Drupal that I am surprised it is not a part of Drupal core. Each site that I create contains at least 15-20 views.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Fairly Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
This essential module save queries. Queries return data to the user (caller).
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Dec 2007

Notify

This module tries to perform an important function yet falls short. Unfortunately when a user is notified of recent posts, the email contains a link to the post yet it omits full path. The user sees "http:///node/123". This is very confusing to users who complained they can't find the post. Am eager to retest this module when this known bug is fixed.

Note: to fix the problem (above) open your sites/default/settings.php file to change one line of code. Take a look:
* Base URL (optional).
*
* If you are experiencing issues with different site domains,
* uncomment the Base URL statement below (remove the leading hash sign)
* and fill in the URL to your Drupal installation.
*
* You might also want to force users to use a given domain.
* See the .htaccess file for more information.
*
* Examples:
* $base_url = 'http://www.example.com';
* $base_url = 'http://www.example.com:8888';
* $base_url = 'http://www.example.com/drupal';
* $base_url = 'https://www.example.com:8888/drupal';
*
* It is not allowed to have a trailing slash; Drupal will add it
* for you.
*/
# $base_url = 'http://yourdomainname.com';

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Good
Level of Difficulty: 
Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
3
Module Information
Module Description: 
The notify module allows users to subscribe to periodic emails which include all new or revised content and/or comments much like the daily news letters sent by some websites.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Dec 2007

Panels

Panels

Every site that I develop uses Panels, so obviously I think Panels is an essential module and should be included in Core. The average user can easily install Panels and within a few minutes be creating custom pages and layouts. Posts, views, and blocks can be inserted anywhere on your page. If you don't like the layout, click-click-click and you have a new one. I promise, the only thing easier and more flexible than Panels is Panels 2!

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
The panels module is the ideological son, successor to and almost complete replacement for the dashboard module. This module allows you to create pages that are divided into areas of the page.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Oct 2007

Content Construction Kit (CCK)

This fabulous module is a must-have for every website. Effortlessly add fields to your forms including dates, email, urls, select lists, node references, Flickr, embedded media, and the list goes on. Clearly, this is one of the most important modules for building quality websites.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
The Content Construction Kit allows you create and customize fields using a web browser. CCK allows you to add custom fields to any content type.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x-dev
Review Date: 
Nov 2007

FlashVideo

Users need to set parameters in your php.ini file or the root .htaccess file and the module comes with this warning (in bold) "Please consult your hosting provider or a professional before making the Recommeneded changes." Decided to go fishing instead.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Avoid
Level of Difficulty: 
Very Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
1
Module Information
Module Description: 
FlashVideo is a video solution that expands the upload module to allow web developers to upload video files, automatically convert those videos to the popular Flash format, and then embed their video in any node type in the Drupal System using the simple [video] tag.
Software Version: 
5.x-2.x
Review Date: 
Oct 2007

Embedded Media Field

Absolutely love this module! Easy install with a little configuring and wow .... suddenly you are able to add wonderful video and image files. Blip.tv, YouTube and other popular providers are supported. Love this module.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Fantastic!
Level of Difficulty: 
Fairly Easy
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
This extensible module will create fields for node content types that can be used to display video, image, and audio files from various third party providers.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x-dev
Review Date: 
Oct 2007

Carbon Account

Installed and got a function Error. That is as far as I took it.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Poor
Level of Difficulty: 
Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
2
Module Information
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x-dev
Review Date: 
Aug 2007

Webform

Use this great module to create customer generated invoices, order forms, and customer feedback. I am finding a use for Webforms in almost every site that I create. The only glitch that I've found is that the information entered in the TEXTAREA field is not visible when completed. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with this module.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Great
Level of Difficulty: 
Very Difficult
Five Star Rating: 
5
Module Information
Module Description: 
This module adds a webform node type to your Drupal site. Typical uses for webform are to create questionnaires, contact or request/register forms, surveys, polls or a front end to issues tracking systems.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Aug 2007

Alternate Login

This simple little module adds tremendous value by creating user name functionality to your Drupal Site. The only weakness of the module is that registering users seem confused on how and when to use it.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Great
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
4
Module Information
Module Description: 
This module provides a simple interface that allows registered users to use a login name which is different than their username.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Jun 2007

CCK Flash Card Module

Flash Card Module

Easy to install module cck requires no configuration and is as easy as the best cck modules. It is functional though it does lack charm.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Good
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
3
Module Information
Module Description: 
A CCK field that offers textfields or textareas for "Front" and "Back" (like the sides of a flashcard). Upon display the front and back can be toggled. Useful for testing your memory on things.
Software Version: 
5.x-1.x
Review Date: 
Oct 2007

Article

Easy to use and great for Drupal users who want a way to group and display information together. It creates and relies upon taxonomy.

Drupal Trainer Ratings
One Word Review: 
Good
Level of Difficulty: 
Easy
Five Star Rating: 
4
Module Information
Module Description: 
The article module allows for nodes of any type to be organized and displayed in a centralized location. This allows the site administrator to organize nodes of several different types in one place.
Review Date: 
Jul 2007